The banks of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal may not be disappearing at the same acre-per-day pace as the Delaware Bay, but there are clear signs of erosion.

The grass abruptly cuts off looking east from the Little League field in Lewes, and where there was once a shoreline there is simply a mudflat. Now one section is being restored by the creation of a living shoreline, which scientists say is a good alternative to bulkheads, which ultimately damage the environment.

On a recent day, scientists from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary were out at the shoreline building on a foundation they laid in the spring. In wading boots, with mud up to their knees, they placed material, took samples and marked where grass was growing.

That energy reflection is also why bulkheads are bad for flood protection, she added.

"It's awful in many cases for things like flood protection because, again, those waves bounce. You might be saving that particular property from eroding back, but that wave energy is getting reflected somewhere else," she said.

Living shorelines vary site to site, depending on the conditions and needs of an area. The Lewes site uses coconut fiber logs, more than a foot wide and about 10 feet long, to create a bench for mud and water to settle into.

It takes about three scientists to carry each log out into the shoreline. The new logs are placed next to one put in during the spring, which are so thick with mud they blend into the marsh.

"It's the plants and the animals that provide the resilience," Kreeger said. "The logs are kind of a temporary thing to help get those communities reestablished where they once existed but they eroded away for one reason or another."

The goal is to have plants and animals return to the shoreline over time. Mussels and oysters are especially important because both have strong adhesives and stick together, Kreeger said, creating an armor.

"If you can get these ribbed mussels and oysters to re-establish and live in density along the edge with the plants, over time that's going to actually provide armoring just like a rock wall would," Kreeger said. "Hopefully by this time next year you won't even see the logs. You'll just see a big grassy fringe where there once was an eroded mud flat."

To help enhance the outreach aspect of the project DNREC will put up two signs providing information about the shoreline, environmental scientist Alison Rogerson said. DNREC will also provide information about how property owners can cut down on permitting time by using Statewide Approved Activities instead of a bulkhead.

"We've been working with the permitting section in DNREC to make the process better," she said. "You get easier permitting, and faster, which I think is what everyone wants."

Near the living shoreline in Lewes an area is marked by PVC pipe. This section is a control that scientists will use to measure the effectiveness of the shoreline, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary restoration coordinator Josh Moody said.

Moody uses a 3D GPS system to chart where plants are growing down to the centimeter, in both the living shoreline and the control area.

"It gives us the data to say how well thing do work, and what the living component of the living shoreline really is," Moody said.

Over time and through big storms, Moody believes the attitudes about bulkheads are changing.

"People are seeing the hardened stuff fail," he said.

And while bulkheads and rip rap were long considered the best protection, that is not really the case, he said.

"The conversation is changing," he said.

Contact Rachael Pacella at rpacella@dmg.gannett.com or at 302-537-1881, ext. 207